Eco-News Roundup: Friday, October 16

Welcome, readers. First up, a recap of the ongoing Mother Jones investigation into the US Chamber of Commerce: Even before members began a mass exodus over the organization's climate policy, it wasn't half as mighty as it claimed to be. A day after Mother Jonesexposed the Chamber's inflated membership numbers, it shrank its official membership count to a tenth of the number it had originally reported. Overnight. Reporter Josh Harkinson has the nitty gritty here.

And here's what else is new in health and environment news on our other blogs:

Latest Chamber haters: Investors are now asking the heads of major businesses to distance themselves from the US Chamber of Commerce.

All I want for Christmas is a climate treaty: Our kids will measure us by how long we stalled on fixing the climate. What will we tell them?

Big Ag vs. the climate bill: The American Farm Bureau Federation is pointing its pitchforks at the Senate climate bill with a major new lobbying campaign, "Don't CAP our Future."

Flukey flu shots: Why do people who get flu shots get less sick? Skeptics say it's because people who get the vaccine are healthier in the first place.

Bush: Shh! Climate change is serious! The Bush administration kept the document declaring that carbon dioxide pollution endangers public welfare under wraps, but the Obama EPA released it this week.

The cost-shifting conundrum: If the government cuts Medicare reimbursement rates, will healthcare providers just make up for it by charging the rest of us more?